title: Safety and efficacy of frameless stereotactic brain biopsy techniques.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the safety and efficacy of frameless stereotactic brain biopsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Diagnostic accuracy was calculated by comparing biopsy diagnosis with definitive pathology in 62 patients who underwent frameless stereotactic brain biopsy between January 2008 and December 2010 in Xiamen University Southeast Hospital. Preoperative characteristics and histological diagnosis were reviewed and then information was analysed to identify factors associated with the biopsy not yielding a diagnosis and complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Diagnostic yield was 93.5%. No differences were found between pathological diagnosis and frozen pathological diagnosis. The most common lesions were astrocytic lesions, included 16 cases of low-grade glioma and 12 cases of malignant glioma. Remote hemorrhage, metastasis, and lymphoma were following in incidence. Multiple brain lesions were found in 17 cases (27.4%). Eleven cases were frontal lesions (17.7%), 8 were frontotemporal (12.9%), 6 were frontoparietal (9.7%), and 5 each were temporal, parietal, and parietotemporal lesions (8.1%). Postoperative complications occurred in 21.0% of the patients after biopsies, including 10 haemorrhages (16.1%) and 3 temporary neurological deficits (1 epilepsy, 1 headache, and 1 partial hemiparesis). No patient required operation for hematoma evacuation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Frameless stereotactic biopsy is an effective and safe technique for histologic diagnosis of brain lesions, particularly for multifocal and frontal lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Xiamen University Southeast Hospital, Zhangzhou 363000, China.
authors.forename: Qiu-Jian
authors.initials: QJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wen-hao
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiang-pin
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Yi-gang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques / Q000009:adverse effects